After Tom Brady’s contract extension, the Patriots now have approximately $25 million in salary-cap space, depending on where the final per-team number ends up before the start of free agency on March 12. That salary cap figure could go up depending on other cost-cutting moves. Brady’s extension cleared $8 million in cap space for 2013.
A look at how that could impact the Patriots this offseason:
| BEFORE BRADY RENEGOTIATION | |
| Potential addition: | Cost: |
| Dwight Freeney, Colts DE | $4 million |
| Keenan Lewis, Steelers CB | $3 million |
| David Nelson, Bills WR | $2 million |
| Ramses Barden, Giants WR | $1 million |
| Julian Edelman | $1 million |
| Free cap space: ($4 million rookie draft cap, $2 million for flexibility) | $6 million |
| Total: | $17 million |
| Gone: Wes Welker, Sebastian Vollmer, Aqib Talib, Kyle Arrington, Danny Woodhead | |
| AFTER BRADY RENEGOTIATION | |
| Potential addition: | Cost: |
| Aqib Talib | $8.6 million transition tag |
| Wes Welker | $5 million cap charge |
| Dwight Freeney, Colts DE | $4 million |
| Julian Edelman | $1 million |
| David Nelson, Bills WR | $1 million |
| Free cap space: ($4 million rookie draft cap, $2 million for flexibility) | $6 million |
| Total: | $25 million* |
| Gone: Sebastian Vollmer, Kyle Arrington, Danny Woodhead | |
*$25 million is an approximated cap number
Note: For transition tag, team has right of first refusal and would receive no compensation.